Day Without Immigrants (or A Day Without Immigrants) was a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

and boycott that took place on February 16, 2017, to demonstrate the importance of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

, and to protest President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's plans to build a

border wall A border barrier is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, and smuggling. Some such barr ...

and to potentially deport millions of

undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

. The strike called for immigrants not to go to work, to avoid spending money, and keep children home from school.Perry Stein
Restaurants, schools close in ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protest
washingtonpost.com February 16, 2017 People took part to show the importance of immigrants to the economy and also to protest possible

racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...

of U.S. citizens by immigration enforcement. The strike was planned on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. People first started talking about the strike after the

Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 ma ...

, and as the idea gained momentum, important people in the restaurant industry helped boost exposure.

Locations

Shop and restaurant owners in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Austin,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Nashville,

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, Denton,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Fort Worth,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, New York, and other major U.S. cities closed their doors in a show of solidarity with their workers. Over 50 restaurants were closed in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Around six food outlets closed at the Pentagon. Three dining options at the

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and is ...

were closed. In Chicago, five of the Pete's Fresh Market locations closed and the owner, Vanessa Dremonas, vowed not to penalize workers who participated in the protest.

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

closed many of his restaurants at the urging of staff. Many restaurants in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

closed, or served menus with fewer choices. Many

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

chains were closed across the country.Sarah Whitten
McDonald's chains shutter across US in support of 'A Day Without Immigrants' protest
cnbc.com 2017-02-16 Nearly all of the stores in

Midwood, Brooklyn Midwood is a neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by the Brooklyn College campus of the City University of New York, a ...

were closed. Over 1,000 businesses were closed in Dallas. In Austin, only 60 percent of students attended school in the KIPP Austin Comunidad charter school network. The

Fort Worth Independent School District A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

saw their elementary school attendance rate go down by 35 percent. Thousands of children in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

did not attend school. In

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, a similar event took place on February 13, 2017, called "A Day Without Latinos."

Activities

The Davis Museum at Wellesley College removed from the display or cloaked in black cloth about 20 per cent of the museum's display; the 120 works of art had either been created or donated by an immigrant.LIZ ROBBINS and ANNIE CORREAL
On a ‘Day Without Immigrants,’ Workers Show Their Presence by Staying Home
nytimes.com 2017-02-16 The

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Many Languages One Voice organized a protest march from Washington, D.C.'s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. In Chicago, a rally took place at Union Park with hundreds of workers marching towards the Mexican consulate on Ashland Avenue at noon on Thursday. Hundreds of demonstrators marched from the Austin City Hall to the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 1881 ...

. Protesters gathered outside city hall in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

. A demonstration was held in Frankfort at the

Kentucky State Capitol The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic P ...

. Some restaurants that stayed open have said they will donate part of their proceeds from Thursday to immigrant advocacy organizations.

Controversy

The Los Angeles Unified School District urged students not to take part in the protest. In the Bay Area,

Redwood City School District Redwood City School District (RCSD) is the public elementary school district serving Redwood City, California. As of 2019–2020 school year, the district serves over 8,500 students in 16 schools. Schools Elementary Schools (grades K-8) * Cliffo ...

also asked families to ensure their kids came to school.

District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...

Chief John Davis emailed principals stating: "all students and staff are expected to be in school throughout the day". Kopan, Tal, CNN
DC preps for 'Day Without Immigrants,' but Hill takes little notice
February 16, 2017 Teachers from

Rubidoux High School Rubidoux High School is a four-year public high school in Jurupa Valley, California. It is part of the Jurupa Unified School District, and it opened in 1959. It is one of four high schools in the district, the others being Jurupa Valley High Sc ...

Jurupa Valley, California Jurupa Valley ( Serrano: ''Hurumpa'') is a city in the northwest corner of Riverside County, California. It was the location of one of the earliest non-native settlements in the county, Rancho Jurupa. The Rancho was initially an outpost of the ...

commented disparagingly on

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

students missing classes on social media. Because of the controversy and their comments, they were placed on paid leave while an investigation takes place. Some restaurants fired their workers who chose to take an unexcused day off on the 16th. Twelve Hispanic workers in Catoosa, Oklahoma were fired for not showing up to work. In Nashville, 18 people lost their jobs for skipping work to take part in the boycott. JVS Masonry in Denver fired around 30 workers for not coming into work on that Thursday. Twenty-one people were fired from Encore Boat Builders for failing to show for their scheduled work day.

References

{{Protests against Trump footer 2017 in American politics 2017 protests Articles containing video clips Boycotts February 2017 events in the United States History of immigration to the United States Immigrant rights activism Immigration-related protests Protests against Donald Trump 2017 labor disputes and strikes

Locations

Activities

Controversy

See also

References